Starting Seeds

The weather is glorious today!  We enjoyed it by going to the zoo for the first time this year.  Then, we came home and worked on some gardening.  Lydia helped me start seeds in the playroom.  We planted tomatoes first, 8 seeds of each of these types: Better Boy, Golden Jubilee, Mexican Midget (cherry tomato), Black Krim, Emmy, Mortgage Lifter, Italian Heirloom, Blondkopfchen (a yellow cherry), and Eva Purple Ball.  You can add all that up, or just ask your super-genius 9-year-old to tally for you, and you'll get 72 tomato plants.  (Since we put 2 seeds in each of 36 little pots, I actually asked him what 36 x 2 was, to try to make it harder.  He said, "Mom, that's not hard!" and gave me the answer in about 2 seconds.)  There probably were a couple of extra seeds dropped into the mix, so we could end up with about 75 tomato plants.  Last year, I made enough salsa for us to eat for the year and give away, plus some canned tomatoes and some pasta sauce.  I did get some tomatoes from a farm and some from my mamaw, though, so I didn't actually grow all that I put up.  I had probably 40 or so plants last year.  We'll see what I end up with this year, and where I put all these tomatoes, but I'm so excited.  Of the kinds we planted, all are heirlooms except for better boy, which is the hybrid my papaw always planted and one of my all-time favorite tomatoes.  I've planted black krim and mortgage lifter before, and I always have some types of cherries, but most of the kinds I'm trying are new attempts for me.

We also planted sweet peppers: 8 sweet chocolate, 12 Bulgarian Chervena Chushka, 8 Sheepnose Pimento, and 6 Garden Sunshine.  I really wanted to up the pepper production, since Lydia and I love them fresh, and I use them in fajitas, soups, etc.  I plan to freeze some for those uses, if I get enough.  Also, I am looking forward to trying some Bulgarian dishes with the Chervena Chushkas.

We did go outside for some planting.  We planted 2 types of radishes in the big pots on the deck, which get lots of sunshine right now before all the trees get leaves.

We'll plant more seeds indoors tomorrow, probably tomatillos and some herbs.  I may be able to plant some herbs outside as well.  I have to read my seed packets!  But for now, I need to get outside and read my magazines while watching Malachi zipline.

Have a great weekend!